Science fiction thrives on premise. A simple story of two space nations fighting has been done to death, space geopolitics having been delved into deeply as an opportunity for aspiring world-builders. What made Star Trek so great was how its episodic format allowed for each episode to explore a mind-blowing new “problem of the week” built on the creativity and imagination of writers whose love for sci-fi showed in the uniqueness of every episode. The cosmos is a strange and uncharted place filled with danger, but also with incredible wonders. Star Trek was limited only by the imagination of its writers. Tragically, the franchise suffered falling ratings that were detrimental to the series in the 2000s. Movies became the face of Trek, but even there, they focused more on the action and spectacle than the original shows did. Fortunately, that torch was taken up not only by Doctor Who, which was experiencing a revival in the New Millennium, but by a sadly oft-forgotten property that paved a new road to science fiction — Stargate.
A Forgotten Franchise Picked Up Where Star Trek Slowed Down
In 1996, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released Stargate by iconic disaster movie director Roland Emmerich. The film opened to mixed reviews, with many critics lambasting how the film’s superb mystery and build-up to unlocking a mystical gate to another planet ultimately led to a desert. However, the idea itself retained incredible potential that was evidently not lost on the studio, and two-and-a-half years later, a new Canadian-American TV show had spawned, serving as the direct successor to the film: Stargate: SG-1.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Ten questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
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🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
Which of these comes most naturally to you? Your strongest skill is your best survival asset — use it accordingly.
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05
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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06
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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07
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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08
A comfortable lie or a devastating truth — which can you actually live with? Some worlds offer one. Some offer the other. Very few offer both.
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09
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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10
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. Read all five — your result is the one that resonates most deeply.
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💊
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things, the places where the official version doesn’t quite line up. In the Matrix, that instinct is the difference between life and permanent digital sedation. You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you. The machines built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
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🔥
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you. You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon. You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it. You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
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🌧️
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely. You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer. In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional. You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either. In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
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🏜️
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards. Patience, discipline, pattern recognition, political awareness, and an understanding that the long game matters more than any single victory. Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic, earn its respect, and perhaps, in time, reshape it entirely.
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🚀
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re someone who finds meaning in being part of something larger than yourself. You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken. Whatever you are, you fight. And in Star Wars, that willingness is what makes the difference.
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An episodic military science fiction series, the show follows a team of predominantly four characters, one of several highly specialized United States Air Force “SG teams” who venture on missions through the “Stargate” in a secret complex under Cheyenne Mountain to explore new worlds and acquire alien allies and/or technology to use in Earth’s defense.
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A Team Dynamic That Made Every Mission Worth Watching
Amanda tapping, Michael Shanks, Richard Dean Anderson and Christopher Judge in ‘Stargate SG-1’Image via SyFy Channel
The series’ main cast typically consists of four characters, who are often where a chunk of the fun can be found. While they do get replaced at times, some permanently towards the end of the series’ life, the original four mains are still the face of the show. Colonel Jack O’Neill, played by Richard Dean Anderson of MacGyverfame, leads the team with an oddly blasé attitude. Despite his leadership role, he is naturally funny and possessed of a sharp tongue. He was once described in the show’s later seasons as a man who “laughs in the face of the enemy even when it’s inappropriate.” However, beneath his confident exterior, there is a depth to his character that the series displays with beautiful subtlety throughout his tenure.
Doctor Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), initially indistinguishable from James Spader‘s genius archeologist, is a natural diplomat and master of ancient cultures. His attitude and moral backbone lead him to butt heads with O’Neill on a regular basis, despite the friendship that develops between the two hard-headed individuals. Over the years, his growth as a character brings Daniel into his own as a distinct and stronger hero than his namesake in the movie. He represents the moral center of the team, and for a time, makes for the ideal audience surrogate as he struggles to adapt himself to a military lifestyle.
Samantha “Sam” Carter (Amanda Tapping) is the show’s resident tech wizard. Holding the rank of Major by the start of the show, her brilliant mind often finds the scientific solution to those problems too complicated for the other characters to handle. Despite her technological prowess, she is also an exceedingly competent fighter in her own right, well-trained among the Air Force’s best and brightest. Teal’c (Christopher Judge) is among the first of the alien characters the team encounters in the series. Originally the obedient lieutenant of the show’s first major villain, he defies his gods and joins the people of Earth to pursue freedom for his enslaved people, the Jaffa. His growth throughout the series is perhaps the most profound, gradually immersing himself in Earth culture with each passing season, to the point that his interactions with the blissfully ignorant outside world are among the most endearing moments in the series.
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Villains That Balanced Mythology, Horror, and Classic Sci-Fi Threats
Image via Showtime
Of course, the show’s villains cannot go without mention. The main antagonists of the series are the Goa’uld, snake-like parasitic aliens who take human hosts with which to masquerade as gods (each one based on deities from ancient pantheons) and oppress the innocent beings of the galaxy. Though they are technically advanced and armed with an army of genetically engineered soldiers called Jaffa, they are culturally archaic, making them and their minions reasonably susceptible to the weapons of Earth’s heroes. The series’ other best villains include the Replicators, a swarm of self-replicating spider-like machines whose only goal is to increase their numbers in perpetuity, but their total lack of prejudice or soul as they spread like cancer arguably makes them as intimidating as Star Trek’s cybernetic villains, the Borg.
Somehow, for the majority of its history, the series perfectly balanced seriousness with comedy. The humor was a part of the characters, and the characters had enough dimensions to them that their wit never once undercut the drama of the story, yet there are those comedy-focused episodes that reveled in their hilarity. The Season 4 episode “Window of Opportunity” sees O’Neill and Teal’c trapped in an endless time loop reminiscent of Groundhog Day. Shenanigans ensue, yet the episode has a deeply poignant resolution despite being one of the show’s funniest episodes in the series.
The Season 5 episode “Wormhole X-Treme” sees the SGC learning of a mid-production TV show made in the suspicious likeness of the real Stargate program, yet the similarities are distinctly satirical and make for a very self-aware parody of the show. The Season 6 episode “The Other Guys” follows a trio of timid SGC scientists trying to rescue SG-1 from capture, and further shenanigans ensue.
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The Standout Episodes That Prove the Format Still Works
But the series is not great simply because of excellent writing and superb characters. When Star Trek was panting with exhaustion by the 2000s, straining to carry the legacy of episodic science fiction, it was Stargate: SG-1 that kept on running. Each new episode was built around some fascinating idea, a new and creative problem to overcome with each episode. If the idea was new, it blew audiences away. If the idea was old, it was refined and perfected. These stories would simply not be possible outside the science fiction genre. The greatest sci-fi works have always functioned the same way, embracing mind-bending possibilities to explore anything from the most compelling adventures to the most thoughtful exploration of humanity. Star Trek did this well, andStargate: SG-1did so too.This format is preferable for this kind of series, not only because it allows for more self-contained explorations of the genre, but because the serial format is typically more akin to stretching a film out over a longer period to focus on a single giant story. WithSG-1, nothing is stopping viewers from picking up any of their favorite episodes to revisit one of the team’s best adventures, as opposed to watching an entire season from scratch to revisit a single giant story.
It is not hard to find episodes that thrive in this format. In the Season 2 episode “A Matter of Time,” the SGC dials a world in the process of being consumed by a black hole, and the gravitational feedback through the wormhole threatens to pull the entire Earth through the Stargate. In the Season 4 episode “Scorched Earth,” SG-1 is faced with the moral dilemma of deciding between the automated terra-former seeking to repopulate the embryos of an extinct civilization seeking a second chance, or the primitive tribe it threatens to annihilate in the process. In the Season 8 episode “Avatar”, Teal’c tests a new virtual reality simulator built using alien technology, only for the simulation to give him the most difficult challenge it can concoct, forcing him to repeat the seemingly impossible “game” over and over as the simulated invaders overcome his best attempts at victory, with no escape. The list goes on.
The series is set to make a comeback thanks to Prime Video.
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This is not to say the series is perfect. The later seasons, especially 9 and 10, experienced a drop in quality, and the more realistic military theme fell by the wayside as the heroes started to get replaced with snarkier, funnier characters who felt more like superheroes than soldiers. Then there are the environments, where most alien planets tend to be the same forest in Vancouver, which is especially frustrating. That and most of the show’s transplanted human extra-terrestrials seem to speak English. There is also prominent Americentrism, one episode making it very clear that the Stargate program should belong entirely under American jurisdiction, and that other countries should contribute their efforts towards the defense of the Earth while expecting no shared decision-making in how the Stargate is operated.
But despite these flaws, the series is exhilarating. The middle seasons are easily the best, embracing the status quo of its premise yet still allowing its characters to grow as the series explores the creative boundaries of science fiction. Doctor Who was the show’s competitor into the 2000s, including against the equally great spinoff show Stargate: Atlantis, and while the iconic and campy British series performed better for the most part, its Canadian-American competition on the SyFy channel took itself more seriously despite its humorous ingredients, making it a worthy successor to the Star Trek legacy while still charting its own path in the space exploration concept.
Martin Wood, Andy Mikita, William Waring, Bill Gereghty, David Warry-Smith, Brad Turner, Mario Philip Azzopardi, William Gereghty, Peter F. Woeste, Dennis Berry, Ken Girotti, Charles Correll, Jonathan Glassner, Robert C. Cooper, Allan Eastman, Bill Corcoran, Jeff Woolnough, Jim Kaufman, Allan Lee, amanda tapping
Some musical biopics do decent business and quietly move on. Bohemian Rhapsody absolutely did not do that. The Queen film became a full-on box-office phenomenon, becoming the highest-grossing musical biopic ever and giving audiences a crowd-pleasing, stadium-sized version of Freddie Mercury’s story. Now it is heading out of Prime at the end of March.
Released in 2018, the film stars Rami Malek as Mercury and follows the rise of Queen, charting the band’s success through its internal tensions and the lead-up to Live Aid. Initially directed by Bryan Singer, before he was fired and the movie was completed by Dexter Fletcher, the movie was a massive commercial hit, grossing more than $900 million worldwide and becoming one of the most successful music films ever made.
The cast includes Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon, Lucy Boynton as Mary Austin, Aidan Gillen as John Reid, Tom Hollander as Jim Beach, and Allen Leech as Paul Prenter.
Sometimes actors quit; other times they’re fired. On this first day of spring, we’re recalling some famous roles that got a fresh start with a recast.
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Is ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Worth a Watch?
Collider’s review stated thatBohemian Rhapsody may play fast and loose with the facts, but it’s hard to deny how effective it is as an emotional, crowd-pleasing ride. Perri Nemiroff writes that the film tracks Queen’s rise to fame through the eyes of Freddie Mercury, and while the storytelling isn’t always smooth, it’s consistently engaging — especially if you go in more connected to the music than the finer details of the band’s real-life history.
“The energy radiating from the crowd is infectious and, in the context of this story, seeing the band back together on that stage is just undeniably satisfying. There was something about that particular shot that I needed, perhaps now more than ever. There are a lot of personal and global complications in our day to day lives, but music has the power to change that. No matter your age, race, sexual orientation, you name it, when you’re singing along with more than 70,000 people, you’re all on the same level sharing the same passion, and getting to celebrate music and life that way for a moment really felt special.”
Bohemian Rhapsody will leave Prime Video on March 31.
Sci-fi franchises consistently produce some of the most important hits nearly every year, and the franchise that’s come to define this generation of sci-fi stories is Dune. The first Dune movie was released in 2021 and was a massive hit, earning strong scores of 83% from critics and 90% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossing $410 million at the box office. It also won six Oscars, which made it an easy decision to greenlight a sequel. Dune: Part Two was released in April 2024, and it was universally hailed as even better than the original. The third and final installment in the franchise will be released later this year, and it’s expected to be one of the most successful movies of the year, if the franchise continues on the same trajectory.
The Dune franchise has already expanded once on the small screen last year, though, with Dune: Prophecy. The hard sci-fi series takes place 10,000 years before the events of Denis Villeneuve’s movies, which answered any questions about whether any characters from the show or the movies would crossover. The fate of Dune: Prophecy wasn’t left up in the air for long, but HBO decided to renew the show for Season 2 before the Season 1 finale, with production beginning last year. Earlier this week, Dune: Prophecy got its most exciting Season 2 update yet, when it was confirmed that production on the second season had officially wrapped. This has led fans to check out the show on streaming, pushing it back into the HBO Max top 10 in more than 10 countries around the world. It’s still unclear at this time when the second season will be released, though.
When a new actor takes over an existing role, audiences can be wary. On this first day of spring, let’s look at some characters who got fresh starts.
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What Do We Know About ‘Dune: Part Three’?
Dune: Part Three will be released exclusively in theaters on December 18, the same day as Avengers: Doomsday. The film will feature returning veterans like Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya, along with newcomers like Robert Pattinson, who has been tapped to play the villainous Scytale. Director Denis Villeneuve has confirmed that there will be a considerable time jump moving into the third film, which will also allow Anya Taylor-Joy to reprise her brief role as Alia Atreides in the film. Warner Bros. released the first trailer for Dune: Part Three not long ago.
Check out all episodes of Dune: Prophecy on HBO Max and stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates and coverage of Season 2.
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Release Date
November 17, 2024
Directors
Anna Foerster
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Writers
Diane Ademu-John, Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert
Originally, DTF St. Louis was meant to pull inspiration from the “My Dentist’s Murder Trial” article — but how much of the show is actually based on a true story?
In the new HBO show, which premiered in March, David Harbour plays Floyd, who is involved in a complicated love triangle with wife Carol (Linda Cardellini) and coworker Clark (Jason Bateman). Before the series debuted on HBO, it was announced that it would mirror an actual murder trial with Harbour, 51, and Pedro Pascal attached to star and executive produce.
The direction changed with Pascal exiting the show and Bateman coming to take over the role. In addition to Pascal’s exit, the creative direction of the series evolved into an original idea with no connection to the original article.
Ultimately, DTF St. Louis no longer follows Thomas Kolman‘s death, which took place in 2011 and made headlines when midazolam, a powerful sedative used by doctors and dentists, was found in his system.
HBO’s upcoming new show DTF St. Louis has a star-studded cast that includes Jason Bateman and David Harbour. According to its official synopsis, the dark comedy miniseries follows a love triangle between three middle-aged adults. However, things go awry when one of them ends up dead. In addition to Harbour and Bateman, DTF St. Louis […]
Kolman’s friend Dr. Gilberto Nunez, was charged with the murder four years later. Prosecutors claimed Nunez — a dentist — was having an affair with Kolman’s wife, Linda. When she ended their romance, Nunez allegedly threatened to die by suicide.
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The New Yorker reported that security camera footage showed Nunez’s car parked next to Kolman’s at the gym the day of Kolman’s death. Authorities also discovered vials of Midazolam in the dentist’s office — in addition to searches on his computer about the drug.
Nunez was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of forgery, including one for faking CIA documents. During his trial, Nunez’s attorneys argued that Kolman died from a heart attack. Nunez was found not guilty of murder in 2016 but was convicted of felony forgery charges related to the fake CIA documents and was also convicted of insurance fraud in two subsequent trials.
Nunez was released in 2018 after serving 19 months of a seven-year sentence in state prison. He was restricted from returning to his prior dental practice and remained on parole until October 2023.
HBO Max dramas are where it’s at. From the channel’s fantastic in-house dramas like The Sopranos, The Wire and Euphoria to being the exclusive streaming home for shows like Mad Men, you can be sure to find a drama that suits your needs. This March, Watch With Us has added two fantastic shows to our list […]
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Creator Steven Conrad told The A.V. Club in March that the show was originally titledMy Dentist’s Murder Trial — until they pivoted behind the scenes.
“I had already started along those lines with my own story, with various dilemmas for my characters,” he explained. “The challenge for me, at that time, was to take that make-believe world I was already concocting and see if I could fit it into these real circumstances from the article.”
Conrad found that the “details didn’t align with what I considered to be the facts of that case.” He switched ideas while working with Harbour on a concept centered around “middle-aged emptiness” while “wondering about the state of their lives, where their bad decisions were coming from, and what the consequences were.”
It’s hard to dispute that Clint Eastwood has given more to the world of movies than anyone else in the history of Hollywood. His career as a movie star began years ago, when he directed and starred in some of the most famous Westerns of all time. Even in the last 10–15 years, as his career slowed down at an advanced age, he refused to quit giving the world more of his movies. He still found plenty of box office success over the years, particularly with action epics like American Sniper, the Bradley Cooper-led war biopic that grossed over $547 million globally. Eastwood won four Oscars over the course of his long and distinguished career, but many would argue that this isn’t anywhere near enough, considering what he’s given to the genre.
60 years ago, Clint Eastwood starred in one of the most famous Westerns of his career, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which was formerly titled Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. The spaghetti Western follows a bounty-hunter who joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third to race against each other in their hunt for a secret fortune of gold buried in a remote cemetery. Hailed as one of the greatest movies ever made, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly holds equally strong scores of 97% from both critics and audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. It also cost only $1.2 million to make, but it grossed $25 million at the box office, making it a massive financial hit. All these years later, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has found streaming success as one of the most popular VOD purchases worldwide on Apple TV.
Sometimes actors quit; other times they’re fired. On this first day of spring, we’re recalling some famous roles that got a fresh start with a recast.
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Is Clint Eastwood’s Final Movie on Streaming?
Clint Eastwood’s final film, Juror #2, is available to stream on HBO Max both in America and globally. The film has continued to find streaming success, proving that Warner Bros. made a mistake bynot giving it a wide theatrical release. Juror #2 was released in select theaters overseas, but it was released straight to streaming in America, despite many classic movie fans expressing a desire to see it on the big screen. Now several years removed from the film, it’s unlikely Eastwood, now 95, will direct another movie.
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Check out The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on both AMC+ and MGM+ in America, and stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates.
Carrie Anne Fleming, best known for her roles in TV shows Supernatural and iZombie, has died.
Fleming’s rep confirmed her death, which occurred on February 26, via a statement shared with Us Weekly on Sunday, March 22. She was 51 years old.
“Carrie passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 51 due to cancer. She died peacefully with her loved ones by her side. She is survived by her daughter,” the statement read. “It was a great privilege to have known Carrie. She was a beautiful soul, inspiring, and above all, kind. She will be greatly missed.”
Supernatural star Jim Beaver, who played Bobby Singer opposite Fleming’s Karen Singer on the CW fantasy-drama series, took to Facebook on March 1 to reflect on the friendship he formed with his onscreen wife. His post also commented on Fleming’s battle with cancer — the same disease that killed his late wife, Cecily Adams, who died at the age of 46 more than two decades ago.
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“I lost Cecily to cancer in 2004 … I lost Carrie to the same disease,” Beaver, 75, wrote alongside several photos of himself with Fleming. “I never thought my heart could break so badly more than once. But it has. But, oh, the two torches I carry. What bright, bright light they shed.”
Fleming appeared as Karen Singer during Supernatural seasons 5 and 7. Previously, she starred as Candy on CW’s iZombie from 2015 to 2019.
Per Beaver’s Facebook post, Fleming was instantly likeable when she joined Supernatural’s set in Canada, where Fleming lived, during season 5. “Carrie Anne Fleming was cast as my wife on Supernatural in my fifth season on the show. I fell for her hard, and I did it mere seconds after meeting her. To my joy and shock, it seems the same thing happened to her. We “met cute,” in Hollywood speak,” he wrote.
Riverdale, Glee and more TV shows were faced with the difficult task of writing out characters after their portrayers died off screen. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Enter your email Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us […]
The post continued, “As we sat on the set before our first scene, saying our hellos and breaking the ice as actors do when first paired up for a scene, she mentioned the name Madeline Rose. I was flummoxed, because that is my daughter’s name, and there was no reason Carrie should know it. I said tentatively, ‘Who’s Madeline Rose?’ She said, ‘Oh, that’s my daughter.’ I said, ‘Wait. That’s my daughter.’ Turns out that, spelling differences aside, our daughters had the same name. And that, as also happens in the movies, was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
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Beaver also reflected on his former costar’s many charms. “She was a powerhouse of vitality and goodwill and amazingly good nature, with a rapturous laugh and an utterly adorable personality that didn’t seem to have an off switch,” he detailed.
Fleming’s work extended to film too, with appearances in 2007’s Good Luck Chuck, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness, and Married Life, plus 2012’s The Christmas Consultant, and 2014’s TV movie Along Came a Nanny.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, she also gave an uncredited performance in 1996’s Happy Gilmore.
Lisa Kudrow‘s The Comeback was canceled — and brought back — multiple times before its third and final season.
Created by Kudrow and Michael Patrick King, The Comeback premiered in 2005 and followed Valerie as she filmed a reality show called The Comeback, which chronicled her journey on a new sitcom with young costars as she tried to resuscitate her Hollywood career. The HBO show debuted to low ratings — and mixed reviews — despite being nominated for three Emmy Awards. Kudrow, for her part, received a nod for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Amid its award success, the show was canceled after 13 episodes. According to The Wall Street Journal, the show averaged 955,000 viewers per episode at the time. HBO said in a 2005 statement that after looking “at our schedule,” they decided that “given our future commitments, we felt we would not be able to give the show the support it needed.”
The show was revived nine years later for a second season of eight episodes. The show returned in 2014 to a more positive reception but since it was announced as a “limited event series,” there was no news about more seasons.
In recent years, TV shows have found new life after being canned by networks, with last-minute and hard-fought saves. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Enter your email Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly […]
“The show originally felt like one humiliation or punishment after another,” Kudrow told W in 2025. “Now, everyone’s signing up for that.”
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Season 2 picked up 10 years later as Valerie attempted to produce a reality TV pilot for Andy Cohen while appearing in a documentary film about her career. HBO confirmed the news in June 2025 that the upcoming season, which premieres Sunday, March 22, will be the show’s last.
Kudrow and King shared their excitement over the news via a joint statement, saying, “Valerie Cherish has found her way back to the current television landscape. Neither of us are surprised she did.”
It’s officially the time of reboots and revivals on TV. While many original cast members return for new series revisiting old stories, many shows have left out major stars when returning. From reality TV like Jersey Shore — Samantha “Sammi Sweetheart” Giancola did not return for the spinoff, Jersey Shore Family Vacation, when it debuted […]
“We need to say ‘third and final,’ ” Kudrow told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month before the show’s return to HBO. “I don’t know if I’ll want to do it again in 10 years, so let’s be done, that way no one is asking what’s next or whether we will even want to do more.”
She added: “The most respectful thing we can do for the audience and for the character is make it a three-part story. It’s a trilogy, and this is the end.”
During the Sunday, March 22, episode of the hit Hallmark series Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) and Nathan’s (Kevin McGarry) engagement ended with Abigail (Loughlin) coming back to Hope Valley, saying, “It’s good to be home.”
News originally broke in December 2025 that Loughlin, 61, will appear in six of season 14’s 12 episodes. The show, which is filming this year, is set to return in 2027 with Krakow, 41, McGarry, Jack Wagner, Chris McNally, Pascale Hutton and Kavan Smith all set to return.
“Since the series’ debut in 2014, the character of Abigail Stanton was a fan favorite and beloved by the Hearties,” Hallmark Media’s head of programming Michelle Vicary said in a statement. “At its core the Hallmark brand is about hope, positivity and connection, which is also the central theme of When Calls the Heart. We felt that season 14 was the right time to continue Abigail’s story with her return to this beloved series.”
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Loughlin’s appearance on the hit show comes seven years after her final episode aired. The actress became a household name after playing Rebecca on ABC’s hit sitcom Full House. From there, Loughlin continued to deliver scene-stealing performances in Summerland, 90210, When Calls the Heart and Fuller House.
Loughlin was written off When Calls the Heart in 2019 in the wake of the college admissions scandal for which she served two months in jail. Before her return was announced, Krakow exclusively told Us Weekly she was hoping to reunite with Loughlin.
“I love Lori Loughlin, and I love the character she created, Abigail Stanton,” Krakow shared, adding that Loughlin rejoining the show is “something I’ve been hoping for for years and years. I’m very much a fan of hers and a friend of hers, so I really hope that it’s happening.”
All good things must come to an end, even when it comes to TV. Over the years, many television stars have suddenly left their roles — while others have been cut from a series without much notice. Anna Faris announced in September 2020 that she was leaving CBS’ Mom after starring as the lead character […]
“I don’t get offered roles like this,” Loughlin shared with Us in December 2024. “Throughout my career, people [have] seen me as the girl next door.”
“I’m not complaining. I feel very blessed for the career that I’ve had but it was a wonderful opportunity for me to play a completely different role,” she explained. “I was shocked to even get the offer. [My costar and On Call director] Eriq [La Salle] was instrumental in bringing me on board. I’m so thankful that Dick Wolf and everyone at Wolf Entertainment also agreed to bring me on board.”
Just one day prior to the death of Jessi Pierce and her three children, the NHL reporter shared happy memories of her kids online.
Pierce, who died with her three children and family dog during a house fire on Saturday, March 21, had shared two photos of the youngsters via X on Friday, March 20.
Pierce was 37 at the time of her death. She shared sons, Hudson and Cayden, with husband Mike Pierce, as well as a daughter, Avery.
The sports reporter’s X post showed her three children eating ice creams in the open air, in addition to one of her sons eating a sandwich.
Kendra Bird, the mother of late influencer Brie Bird, is remembering their final moments together before her daughter’s death. “One week ago from this very moment, we were having regular conversations,” Kendra wrote via Instagram on Thursday, December 18. “We talked about what finishing touches you were going to make on your Christmas list, why […]
The NHL announced Pierce and her family’s death on Sunday, March 22, sharing the news via a statement. “The entire National Hockey League family sends our prayers and deepest condolences to the Pierce family on the passing of Jessi Pierce and her three young children,” the statement read. “Jessi loved our game and was a valued member of the NHL.com team for a decade. We will miss her terribly.”
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The White Bear Lake Fire Department also released a statement via Facebook, confirming that firefighters had responded to a residential “structure fire” at a home in Minnesota at around 5:25 a.m. local time on Saturday.
Fire Chief Greg Peterson said in the statement, “Neighbors that made the 911 call reported seeing fire coming through the roof of the house and stated there were likely people inside of the house. Upon arrival, crews found a fully involved structure fire and immediately began fire suppression efforts. Crews were then able to locate an adult, three children and a dog inside of the house. Unfortunately, all were deceased.”
Meredith Gaudreau is remembering the many talents of her late husband Johnny Gaudreau. On Tuesday, November 5, Meredith reposted several photos originally shared by fans and loved ones who had uploaded their “Favorite Johnny hockey pic” to social media. Selecting a handful of posts to share via her own Instagram Stories, Meredith painted a touching […]
The statement continued, “We ask for the opportunity to allow our community to come together and support one another during this difficult time.”
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Pierce had served as a reporter for NHL.com for the past 10 seasons and also contributed to the Minnesota Wild. She was also cohost of the “Bardown Beauties” podcast, whom she recorded alongside cohost Kirsten Krull, a freelance sports broadcaster.
Krull, 29, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a moving tribute to her former colleague. “Family isn’t always blood, but the people you choose and that couldn’t have been more true. Jessi was like another big sister to me,” Krull wrote alongside a carousel of images and videos that showed the pair enjoying good times together, and with their families.
Krull’s post continued, “She had a confidence and a way of being able to talk to anyone that I envied. She had an unmatched work ethic and a huge heart. Any time I needed help, needed to rant, or needed someone she was there without hesitation. Most importantly, she was the best mom and loved her kids and family fiercely.”
Marshals shocked Yellowstone fans by killing Monica off — and are they now having Kayce Dutton move on after just four episodes?
During the Sunday, March 22, episode, Kayce (Luke Grimes) helped someone who got stranded after a plane crash. His daughter appeared quite grateful and by the end of the episode, she was flirting with Kayce at the bar.
“I wish I knew a local who could give me a crash course on all things Big Sky. You were born and raised here, what do you say?” Dolly (Ellyn Jameson) said while flirting with Kayce, who replied, “Maybe.”
CBS announced on March 12, that Marshals is returning for more episodes after its premiere was watched by 20.6 million viewers within seven days. This marked the most-watched network original series premiere without a football lead-in since 2017.
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CBS announced on Thursday, March 12, that Marshals is returning for more episodes after its premiere was watched by 20.6 million viewers within seven days. This marked the most-watched network original series premiere without a football lead-in since 2017.
“Marshals delivered a breakout performance, capturing a massive audience across platforms and quickly establishing itself as one of TV’s most powerful new series,” CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said in a statement. “The overwhelming viewer response speaks to the strength of the Yellowstone world, the bold, character-driven storytelling from the creative team and the dynamic cast performances led by Luke Grimes.”
Sonja Flemming/CBS
According to a press release, CBS has had several wins, with Marshals and Justin Hartley’s Tracker coming out as the top two most‑watched shows during their premiere week. The premiere of Luke Grimes‘ spinoff, meanwhile, ranks as CBS’ most-streamed episode ever on Paramount+.
Paramount Network’s Yellowstone, which aired from 2018 to 2024, originally introduced Us to Grimes, 42, as Kayce Dutton. After the show came to an end, it was announced that the actor would be headlining his own series for CBS, which follows Kayce as he leaves “ranching life behind to join an elite unit” of the U.S. Marshals while “combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence.”
The show debuted earlier this month with Grimes, Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos, Tatanka Means, Brett Cullen and Logan Marshall Green leading the cast. Longtime fans of Taylor Sheridan‘s Yellowstone universe were shocked, however, when the first episode revealed the death of Kayce’s wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille).
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Showrunner Spencer Hudnut later explained that the death happened after they realized Asbille, 34, wasn’t available to appear on the show.
Yellowstone has expanded with several spinoffs — but some of the shows have been going through extreme offscreen production delays. Taylor Sheridan‘s hit show, which premiered in 2018, introduced viewers to the fictional Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana. It became an instant hit for the Paramount Network, which inspired prequels including […]
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“The original conversation was that it has to be something [that happens to Kayce in the series premiere]. There was the thought of, ‘Maybe we find him and he’s just bored because he was protecting his family and was a Navy SEAL, so then actually a calm life is not for him, which is a path,’” Hudnut told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month about the motivation behind the new spinoff. “But probably not a satisfying enough path for Kayce. Then, truthfully, as we were trying to figure it out, Monica was not one of the ingredients that was available to me.”
“No, I wasn’t part of any of that, so I can’t really speak to how or why that played out the way it did. But when that happened, it cleared up what that thing was for Kayce,” he noted. “And I think the way we’ve done it, my goal was to not undermine that journey in Yellowstone because they do have [the dream] — she says, ‘This is a dream come true’ at the end of it. They did achieve that. They did get what they finally wanted, and, unfortunately, life just intervened and disrupted everything that Kayce wanted. So that’s where we find him in Marshals.”
Project Hail Mary entered its debut weekend riding high on a wave of positive buzz. That includes a rave review right here on GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT. It’s exactly the kind of movie audiences have been begging Hollywood to make for years, and now that they’ve made it, those audiences have responded.
Project Hail Mary opened with $140.9 million worldwide this weekend, making it the biggest debut of the year so far. The film earned $80.5 million in North America and $60.4 million internationally across 82 markets. That split shows strong domestic interest with solid overseas support, particularly for a non-franchise sci-fi release.
In the process, the Ryan Gosling-led movie also set a new record for Amazon MGM, delivering the largest opening in the studio’s history. The previous record holder, Creed III (2023), debuted with $100.4 million globally, including $41.8 million from international markets. Project Hail Mary surpassed both totals by a wide margin.
Compared to other recent releases, the gap is clear. Scream 7 brought in $97.2 million worldwide in its opening, with $33.1 million coming from international markets. Project Hail Mary outperformed it both domestically and overseas.
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